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How Bad Does England Suck?

How bad does England suck?

So bad that I've started an entire new blog just to write about it at EnglandSucks.wordpress.com. Here's what's on the About page:

Ah, England. The sun never sets on the British Empire. Chin up. Pip pip and all that rot.

England used to be a great place, cool even. But now it seems to be circling the drain, as life imitating the art of George Orwell’s 1984. This site will attempt to document how. As to why, I’ll leave that to experienced political analysts. Personally, I think it’s a damn shame.

At this point, I'm afraid the only things England has left going for it are fish & chips and Doctor Who.

What the Hell is Wrong with These People?

OK, I'm as much in favor of reforming drug laws as the next 60's guy, but really...

The last paragraph quoted (my italics) is what ticked me off.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dozens of San Diego State University students were arrested after a sweeping drug investigation found that some fraternity members openly dealt drugs and one even sent a mass text message advertising cocaine, authorities said Tuesday.

Two kilograms of cocaine were seized, along with 350 Ecstasy pills, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil, methamphetamine, illicit prescription drugs, several guns and at least $60,000 in cash, authorities said.

Of the 96 people arrested, 75 were students. Eighteen of the students were arrested Tuesday when nine search warrants were executed at various locations including fraternities, said Jesse Rodriguez, San Diego County assistant district attorney.

The undercover probe, dubbed Operation Sudden Fall, was sparked by the cocaine overdose death of a student in May 2007, authorities said. As the investigation continued, another student, from Mesa College, died Feb. 26 of a cocaine overdose at an SDSU fraternity house, the DEA said.

Those arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another who was to receive a master's degree in homeland security.

Bad News From All Over

I've been kind of busy working on some of new projects for a few weeks, so perhaps I haven't been paying enough attention to world events as I should have. Well, actually that must be true or I'd have a lot more posts here for April, because there's plenty to worry about. And I don't mean global warming, either, but some of the scariest things I've read since I heard Hillary Clinton was running for president:

Food shortages (even matzo shortages), food riots, and higher food prices. Perhaps this article isn't enough to make you worry in detail, but OTOH it might be a good idea to dig up all those ideas people had when preparing for the great Y2K problem that never happened...

The Coming-Soon-to-a-Theater-of-War-Near-You Conflict with Islam. I'm not going to pretend I know all the answers when it comes to Muslims, Christianity, and Western culture, but Bill Warner, the interviewee of this piece, surely sounds like he does. It's a very long article but you won't notice that because, no matter how you feel about the subject, you'll be shaken up when you read it.

And if that isn't enough, now pundits are seeing the entire world at war -- for centuries -- over the effects of climate change.

Happy Earth Day.

Those Wild and Crazy Chinese

OK, this makes me really mad.

First they invaded Tibet (admittedly, this was a while ago, but we dragons have long memories).

Then they accused the Dalai Lama of being a terrorist.

Now, in one of the most cynical ploys I've heard since Hillary Clinton claimed to be a New Yorker, they've pre-announced that Tibetans will be making suicide terrorist attacks.

Why is this cynical? Because now the Chinese government can kill as many Tibetans as it likes, and claim they all committed suicide. Or that they were about to commit suicide, so they were forced to shoot them in order to stop them. Or that the peaceful Tibetan Buddhist monks were stirring up the people and goading them to commit suicide, so that's why China was forced to destroy all the Tibetan holy places.

Think I'm paranoid? Let's just watch and find out. And while we're waiting, please remember to boycott Chinese goods to show your displeasure.

Obama/Clinton Ticket Must Never Happen

AOL blogger Tommy Christopher writes:

There is a gathering consensus among political observers that Senator Hillary Clinton cannot win the Democratic Presidential nomination, and that she should step aside soon for the good of the party.

So far, so good. But then he says "In my view, Hillary Clinton's most valuable contribution will be at Barack Obama's side as his vice president" and goes on to make a reasonable case.

Unfortunately, this would be a disaster for the Democratic Party and the country. Here's why.

Hillary is the new Antichrist. Democrats do not and cannot fathom just how deep the national hatred of Hillary goes, once outside the liberal enclaves they spend virtually all their time caring about. Her shenanigans during this campaign have not endeared her to her fellow Democrats, either. Putting her on the ticket at all will make many people run screaming from the exits, no matter how much they may look up to Obama.

Hiilary is not exactly a shrinking violet. Imagine a joint Obama/Clinton administration in action. Remember Hillary's health care initiative when she had no official position beyond First Lady? Now imagine her meekly taking her cues from Obama. Ain't gonna happen.

And that goes double for Bill. I can't even visualize Bill Clinton acting properly as First Husband (or whatever they'd call it). He'd be impossible as Second Husband.

I hate to even bring this last one up, but it was someone else who recently said something about Hillary using the "Tonya Harding option" if she lost the nomination. Well...considering that list of dead bodies that history has attached to people who crossed the Clintons, do we really want to put Hillary Clinton a heartbeat away from the presidency? I hope to hell Barack is smart enough to know who he's dealing with here.

There's Something About China

...and it's time to do something about it.

I've been collecting online items about China for years, both positive and negative. And until now, I've managed to keep my big mouth shut on this topic. But now things have gone too far.

China accuses Dalai Lama of being a terrorist!

No, that's not a headline from the popular Onion news satire website, although it sounds like one. That's today's news from the London Times. And, for anyone who's spent more than 30 seconds studying the history of Tibet, that's like calling Abraham Lincoln a slaveowner or Hitler a humanitarian. It's totally insane, but unfortunately that's what the world has come to expect from the Chinese government. And unfortunately 1,300,000,000 people live under this sick regime.

Let's take a look at some stories from all over the world about the current Tibet crisis. I'm only posting headlines and links because otherwise we could be here all day:

• China Blasts Dalai Lama, Pelosi on Tibet
• China Lashes Out at Crackdown Critics
• Tibetans appeal for world's help, but they're resigned to getting little
• China's PR Machine Cranks Up Role of Dalai Lama
• Dalai Lama and his allies are out to destroy Olympics, says China

OK, there was rioting in Tibet, about 50 years after being savagely attacked by the Chinese and having their independence and much of their culture taken away. Frankly, one can hardly blame the Tibetans for losing control of themselves every once in awhile. And the Chinese government knows that the Dalai Lama is one of the most peaceful people on the planet, which is exactly why they accuse him of being behind the violence. In actual fact, needless to say, he's denounced the riots in Tibet, while the Chinese government has claimed that all the people killed were Chinese, conveniently ignoring the far greater number of Tibetans killed by Chinese troops and police.

But that last headline reveals the real fear of the Chinese government: that the upcoming Olympics -- a chance for China to "show off" for the world -- will somehow be disrupted. They know it would be a real loss of China's prestige in the world if something like that happened. So let's make sure it does!

The Chinese government is Communist and displays all the classic paranoia and control of news and people that was evident in the Soviet Union and other examples of the "workers' paradise", such as Cuba. And yet China has become an economic powerhouse in the last few decades precisely because they opened themselves up to foreign trade. But they have failed their own people as well as the rest of the world. Let's look at some of the things they have managed to accomplish while preparing for this Summer Olympics:

• China hushes up Olympic deaths -- China has systematically covered up the accidental deaths of at least 10 workers, and perhaps many more, in a rush to construct the futuristic ”bird’s nest” stadium in Beijing for this summer’s Olympic Games.
• State Department warns American spectators at Olympics not to expect privacy -- The State Department is advising Americans planning to attend the Olympic Games in Beijing to take care and be mindful that they could be under surveillance.
• Un-bear-able: China's cruel animal Olympics reach new heights -- A black bear perches precariously on a scooter and is forced to drive a circus performer across a tightrope. This shocking image is just the latest picture to emerge from the barbaric Animal Olympic Games in China, a country with a shameful animal rights record.
• Olympics clean-up Chinese style: Inside Beijing's shocking death camp for cats

In short, no life is safe in China while the Chinese government attempts to "put on a happy face" for the world.

But wait, there's more.

The Chinese government not only destroys the lives of its own people, but deliberately or negligently allows the lives of people all over the world to be taken or threatened as well:

• Man beaten to death in China for taking pictures -- Authorities have fired an official in central China after city inspectors beat to death a man who filmed their confrontation with villagers, China's Xinhua news agency reports.
• Pollution kills 750,000 in China every year -- The figures, almost twice previous estimates, were calculated using a new statistical model. But they have been suppressed until now because the government feared they would cause social unrest, according to reports.
• Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China -- As American food safety regulators head to China to investigate how a chemical made from coal found its way into pet food that killed dogs and cats in the United States, workers in this heavily polluted northern city openly admit that the substance is routinely added to animal feed as a fake protein. (NY Times, April 30, 2007)
• Claims that China paid Bin Laden to see cruise missiles -- China paid Osama bin Laden several million dollars for access to unexploded American cruise missiles left over from the US attack on his bases three years ago, a senior alleged al-Qaida agent in Europe has claimed. The alleged agent's account is contained in the transcript of a secretly taped conversation between supporters of Osama bin Laden obtained by the Guardian. (The Guardian, October 20, 2001)
• Poisoned Toothpaste in Panama Is Believed to Be From China -- Diethylene glycol, a poisonous ingredient in some antifreeze, has been found in 6,000 tubes of toothpaste in Panama, and customs officials there said yesterday that the product appeared to have originated in China. (NY Times, May 19, 2007)
• Chinese kill baby to enforce birth rule -- China has been shaken by one of the most horrifying cases of official infanticide in recent memory after family planners drowned a healthy baby in front of its parents. (The Times, August 24, 2000)
  
• China Link Suspected in Lab Hacking -- A cyber attack reported last week by one of the federal government’s nuclear weapons laboratories may have originated in China, according to a confidential memorandum distributed Wednesday to public and private security officials by the Department of Homeland Security.
• China threatens to nuke America -- A recently-declassified Chinese military document states communist China will first conduct a "Vietnam"-like conventional war against American forces, and then eventually fight a nuclear war against the U.S. homeland. The document, recently translated by an American intelligence agency, was sent by the Chinese army central command to all the regional garrisons and army corps headquarters in China.
• China: Internet users at risk of arbitrary detention, torture and even execution -- "Everyone detained purely for peacefully publishing their views or other information on the Internet or for accessing certain websites are prisoners of conscience," Amnesty International said. "They should be released immediately and unconditionally".
• Virus from China the gift that keeps on giving -- An insidious computer virus recently discovered on digital photo frames has been identified as a powerful new Trojan Horse from China that collects passwords for online games - and its designers might have larger targets in mind.
  

Enough already. I hope by now you get the picture. Cheap Chinese goods for the world are no bargain when they support death and repression like this. Let's all try to cut down on our purchase of Chinese-made items, boycott the 2008 Summer Olympics, and let the Chinese government know that "business as usual" is over.

My Comments on the Undersea Internet Cable Outages

From the CNN article:

(CNN) -- An undersea cable carrying Internet traffic was cut off the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, officials said Friday, the third loss of a line carrying Internet and telephone traffic in three days.

Ships have been dispatched to repair two undersea cables damaged on Wednesday off Egypt.

FLAG Telecom, which owns one of the cables, said repairs were expected to be completed by February 12. France Telecom, part owner of the other cable, said it was uncertain when repairs on it would be repaired.

Stephan Beckert, an analyst with TeleGeography, a research company that consults on global Internet issues, said the cables off Egypt were likely damaged by ships' anchors.

The loss of the two Mediterranean cables -- FLAG Telecom's FLAG Europe-Asia cable and SeaMeWe-4, a cable owned by a consortium of more than a dozen telecommunications companies -- has snarled Internet and phone traffic from Egypt to India.

OK, here's my take. This is bullshit, and I'll tell you why:

"Twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

When everything comes out, I would bet serious money that either (1) a super-conservative Muslim sect, tired of Western influences in the Middle East, cut the cables to stop the pernicious Internet or (2) a power in the Middle East is planning a military strike and cut the cables to confuse the enemy.

The other possibility is that the powers that be don't want everyone to know how easy it is to disrupt worldwide Internet service, so they came up with the anchor story as disinformation. Awful lot of anchors all at once...

What the Ding-Dong Is Wrong With Using a Boat?

OK, let me see if I understand this properly.

Global warming, carbon emissions, environmental considerations, airplanes = guilt, yada-yada.

So now some company has come along with the biggest no-brainer in literally hundreds of years. Are you ready for this one?

Travel between islands in boats.

It sounds reasonable to me. Especially when those islands are the Hawaiian Islands, and for many recent years, the only way to travel between them was by airplane. Then a company comes along, invests several zillion dollars in a state-of-the-art ferry with all kinds of environmental features including waterjet propulsion (no propellers, so no gashes in marine mammals), so that people can finally go between islands with their own cars instead of having to rent them, and guess what?

A bunch of supposed "environmentalists" file suit to stop the thing, and hold protests.

I know, nothing should surprise me any more. But it does make me wonder if the airlines had anything to do with the lawsuits, or if the "environmentalists" are also members of the Flat Earth Society, or what.
hawaii ferry